PBA Draft 2016 Grades

Dem boyz
(Photo credit: inquirer.net)

The 2016 PBA Draft has finally come to an end and with it, the start of promising PBA careers for about 30 or more draftees. Though we will have to admit that some of the proceeding's luster was offset by the whole "special/ regular" thing and the fact that the Gilas picks were revealed by "insiders" as early as Friday morning.

You will have to bear with us regarding the order of the picks, since we were just as dumbfounded as the next guy. From what we have gathered, the "Gilas round" was the "first round" though the players were not called in order of selection (the PBA agreed to call the teams up to the stage alphabetically, which is probably a first in all of pro-sports). To avoid confusion, we are just going to put a "G" next to the names of the Gilas draftees, and start with 1 for Blackwater's Ael Banal and so on.

Here's our team grades:
Alaska - G Carl Bryan Cruz, 11 PASS
Cruz is a legitimate "3 and D" system player who has the size to play either three or four in the PBA, he has good range and can be relied upon on offense from time to time. How Alaska coach Alex Compton fits him in with his other wings: Calvin Abueva, Kevin Racal, Rome dela Rosa and Tony dela Cruz is another question. Now regarding the 11th pick, we undertand that maybe the team was trying to make a statement/ protest but there were still some solid players left on the table that they could have at least turned into a trade bait. Then again, it's all about principles.
Grade: C

Blackwater - G Mark Belo, 1 Ael Banal, 13 Tristan Perez
While we are iffy on the Banal pick, Blackwater did what they had to do: draft Belo and not, at least for the time being and thanks to the "2 year ban," trade the year's 1st pick to Team MVP. If Banal pans out as a solid PBA shooting guard, then maybe we can forgive the team for trading away Carlo Lastimosa to NLEX.
Grade: A

Ginebra - G Kevin Ferrer, 3 Jammer Jamito, 10 Jericho de Guzman
They got their "3 and D" guy in Ferrer, who is basically an upgrade over all of their small forwards at the moment: Aljon Mariano, Chris Ellis and Nico Salva, but only IF the former UST Tiger plays up to his potential. Jammito is an under-the-radar workhorse who can contribute right away in spurts. De Guzman is a project/ practice player to help Japeth Aguilar feel good about himself.
Grade: A

GlobalPort - G Von Pessumal, 14 Francis Tamsi, 17 Ryan Arambulo, 27* Spencer Eman
We respect Pessumal's shooting and dedication, but he will have to put in a lot of work to be able to stay in the league for a long time. Same with the rest of GP's picks.
Grade: C

Mahindra - G Russel Escoto, 4 Joseph Eriobu, 19 Cedrick Ablaza, 26* Jan Jamon, 33* Paolo Pontejos
Floodbusters head coach Chris Gavina is on to something, and we kind of like it. They drafted a lot of unheralded players, who all just so happen to be blue collar-type of players who can be part of the roster right away. Escoto's length will come in handy, though he will need to get stronger if he's to face the PBA's best bigs.
Grade: A

Meralco - G Ed Daquioag, 7 Jonathan Gray, 15 Jessie Saitanan, 29* Ryusei Koga
They made the 2016 PBA Governor's Cup Finals with a lack of firepower, which ultimately led to their downfall at the hands of Ginebra-- now they're loading up on scorers: rookies Daquioag and Gray and veteran Joseph Yeo. We like it. Also, how bad would it be if Koga ended up playing more minutes than Baser Amer (much like Anjo Caram did)?
Grade: A

NLEX - G Alfonso Gotladera, 8 Reden Celda
The Celda pick was Yeng Guiao through and through, but we're not too sure about Gotladera who is a project at best. Did Guiao lose a bet? Weren't they supposed to get Pogoy?
Grade: C

Phoenix - G Matthew Wright, 2 Gelo Alolino, 12 Jeff Javillonar, 18 Nico Javelona, 20 Alex Inigo
They got two solid point guards in Alolino and Inigo, a defender in Javillonar a.k.a. Jeric Teng Stopper/ Killer and the projected "Marcio Lassiter clone" Matthew Wright. There should be a lot of excitement within the Phoenix camp.
Grade: A

Rain or Shine - G Mike Tolomia, 9 PASS
With Paul Lee's exit, RoS is left with Maverick Ahanmisi and Chris Tiu at the point position. Tolomia will be a key contributor right away if Coach Caloy Garcia opts to continue Yeng Guiao's "use every available player per game" philosophy. Also, this team could've added Jericho de Guzman (project big), Javillonar, etc. but elected to be the first team to pass
Grade: C

San Miguel - G Arnold Van Opstal, 6 Rashawn McCarthy, 16 Jovet dela Cruz
How did SMB get their hands on AVO? Seriously? While AVO is unpolished as hell, he is ultra-athletic and can be developed into either another Junemar Fajardo OR Yancy de Ocampo. Those are the two guys that he will be able to learn from in practices. How quickly he picks up the PBA game is up to him really. McCarthy is nice, maybe a Chris Lutz insurance policy should the former Gilas I player continue his slump.
Grade: B

Star - G Jio Jalalon, 5 Chris Javier
They have too many superstar guards, but we don't really care or mind. They'll probably balance it out in the coming days by trading guys away, but when it comes to this year's Draft they got the best available talent outside of Belo AND the best enforcer in the Regular.
Grade: A

TNT - G RR Pogoy, 30* Timothy Habelito, 36* Mikee Reyes, 38* Levi Hernandez
Kudos to TNT for snatching Pogoy when it was reported that they were going to end up with Gotladera. They also added FBL Foton guys Reyes and Hernandez who should be able to crack the rotation by season's end. Hernandez is PJ Simon-like in the way he scores the basket, but he might need to put on some weight and commit to defense a bit. Reyes has the PBA guard size but he's coming off an injury and will have to battle Jayson Castro AND Kris Rosales for minutes.
Grade: B

Who won in this year's Draft? Were you a fan of the Special/ Regular set-up? Hit us up @kilikilishot on Twitter!